Partnership will help WHA reach and educate more women to take action

Germantown, Md. (October 5, 2016) – Mars Symbioscience and its CocoaVia® brand have joined together with Women’s Heart Alliance (WHA) on its mission to improve heart health and reduce cardiovascular disease among women in the United States. As a Platinum sponsor of WHA, Mars Symbioscience and the CocoaVia® brand are making an investment in raising awareness and activating women and communities around the country to take steps toward living heart-healthy lives.

“At Mars Symbioscience, our mission is to translate science into products that have a positive impact on people, pets, and the planet,” said Julie Talbot, Marketing & Sales Director. “Together with the CocoaVia® brand, we’re happy to support an organization with a holistic approach to helping women achieve more heart-healthy lives.” The investment will allow WHA to expand its reach in key markets across the country and increase education among women and their doctors about women’s heart health, including prevention through a balanced diet and active lifestyle, heart screenings, and increased access to diagnosis, care, and treatment.

“Only 54% of women know that heart disease and stroke is their number one killer,” said British A. Robinson, CEO, Women’s Heart Alliance. “We look forward to partnering with Mars Symbioscience to educate and empower women to fight their number one killer.”

The CocoaVia® brand is the result of two decades of research from Mars, Incorporated on cocoa flavanols, the beneficial phytonutrients found naturally in cocoa . Numerous scientific studies have demonstrated that cocoa flavanols promote healthy blood flow from head to toe† . When your blood is circulating properly, vital organs from your head to your toes get the oxygen and nutrients they need. As part of a balanced diet and active lifestyle, CocoaVia® can be part of helping you feel and stay your best.

†This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

About Mars Symbioscience

Pioneering some of the most innovative and breakthrough fundamental scientific research, and with sustained funding from Mars, Incorporated, Mars Symbioscience was established in 2005 as an internal technology -based health and life sciences venture area to develop and commercialize new products and services supported by evidence-based science. To date, Symbioscience has successfully incubated, introduced and transitioned five technology platforms in the areas of food, plant, biomedical and life sciences, including Wisdom Panel®, (www.wisdompanel.com), a range of complex canine genetic tests for breeders and veterinarians and, CocoaVia® (www.cocoavia.com), a revolutionary cocoa flavanol extract-based dietary supplement that promotes healthy blood flow from head to toe and thus ultimately supports cardiovascular health in people. For more information, please visit www.marssymbioscience.com.

About Mars, Incorporated

Mars, Incorporated is a private, family-owned business with more than a century of history and some of the best loved brands in the world including M&M’S®, PEDIGREE®, DOUBLEMINT® and UNCLE BEN’S®. Headquartered in McLean, VA, Mars has more than $33 billion in sales from six diverse business segments: Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks and Symbioscience. More than 80,000 Associates across 78 countries are united by the company’s Five Principles: Quality, Efficiency, Responsibility, Mutuality and Freedom and strive every day to create relationships with stakeholders that deliver growth we are proud of as a company.

About Women’s Heart Alliance

The Women’s Heart Alliance (WHA) was formed to raise awareness, encourage action and drive new research to fight women’s heart disease. It’s a unique collaboration between two of America’s leading medical institutions— the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and the Ronald O. Perelman Heart Institute at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center—and two major philanthropists and leaders in business and entertainment, Barbra Streisand and Ronald O. Perelman.

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